Bessemer City mother charged with killing son

Eleven months after her young son was found dead in a house gone up in flames, a Bessemer City woman is charged with suffocating him to death.

Karin Ziolkowski was living in Meriden, Connecticut, on Nov. 14, 2016, when her Davis Street home caught fire with herself and 8-year-old Elijah Ziolkowski inside.

Elijah's cause of death was initially reported as smoke inhalation, officials told the Meriden (Connecticut) Record-Journal. The Meriden Police Department is now deeming the death "homicidal asphyxia, which occurred prior to the fire being set," the department said in a press release.

Karin Ziolkowski was living at 105 N. Inman Ave. in Bessemer City when local authorities arrested her Friday. She now awaits extradition back to Connecticut on murder and arson charges.

Connecticut officials have now determined the fire at 13 Davis St. to be intentionally set. Elijah and Ziolkowski were pulled by firefighters from a bedroom at the rear of the home, and Karin Ziolkowski's condition was initially considered critical, according to the Record-Journal.

Karin Ziolkowski's husband wasn't home at the time of the blaze. The family was set to be evicted from the home the following day for not paying rent, the paper reported.

Ziolkowski was booked into the Gaston County Jail at 2:46 p.m. Friday. She will not be allowed to bond out.

You can reach Adam Lawson at 704-869-1842 or on Twitter @GazetteLawson